Some residents may consider it deplorable that a PAC has engaged in some negative campaigning in Kirkland in the 2011 election cycle, but the practice is definitely not new to Kirkland. In 2009 a group of 15 former elected Kirkland officials, including eight former mayors, mounted a highly visible attack sponsored by the PAC Kirkland 2020 on re-election candidate Tom Hodgson. That attack was financed by (arguably) the most honorable of elected officials and business stalwarts in Kirkland--Jon and Deb Eddy ($200), Nona Ganz ($100), Kirkland Cinemas* ($800), McLeod Operating Acct.** ($500), John Gilday*** ($200) along with a loan endorsed by Gilday ($2,500).

If such honorable people as former mayors Mary-Alice Burleigh, Larry Springer, Deb Eddy, Michelle Muse, Bob Neir, Dave Russell, Jim Vaux and Bill Woods can point out perceived negatives in a candidate's persona, then why cannot ordinary citizens do the same? Negative campaigning is not new to Kirkland, and to condemn a PAC consisting of ordinary citizens for mounting a 2011 truth campaign about Bob Sternoff because it is said to be novel is either uninformed or hypocritical.

The information on the Concerned Citizens of Kirkland website comes from readily available public sources. If the information available therein allows Kirkland voters to make a better decision, can it be harmful? Once voters know the truth, their vote says as much about them as it does about the candidates.

* Part of Park Place Properties owned by Touchstone Development ** Stuart McLeod, owner of Hector’s restaurant and developer of Lake Street property *** Eastside Sun